When the Devil Came
by x-sephyr-x
Summary: Five years have passed, and a new student enters the academy. She seems okay... yet Natsume gets the eerie feeling that she's out to get HIS Mikan. The pieces don't fit, and he has to figure it out before it's too late... NXM R&R!
1. Prologue

**Summary: Five years have passed, and a new student enters the academy. She seems okay... yet Natsume gets the eerie feeling that she's out to get HIS Mikan. The pieces don't fit, and he has to figure it out before it's too late... N X M ... R & R!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice. Surely y'all know this by now?**

**Okay, here's the deal. This is my first ever fanfiction (in this account, that is). The whole Mikan-Natsume relationship everyone loves is introduced in the first paragraph, but Mikan is due to enter the scene in the first chapter. The prologue is just to introduce you all to the new kid. So before you close this fic in exasperation saying stuff like, "where on earth is MIKAN?!", take that in mind.**

**Anyway, enjoy! Don't forget to READ and REVIEW! :D**

**~ ø Sephyr ø ~**

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Fifteen-year-old Black Cat was perched on the highest branches of the tallest tree in Gakuen Alice – the only tree that could overlook past the fortified gates of the academy and possibly beyond that. He liked to sit on that particular branch on particular days, pondering on particular thoughts – thoughts that riddled him to no end, and these days, they were mainly centered around a young brunette with large brown eyes and a beautiful smile. At the thought of his Mikan, a certain sensation of possessiveness overwhelmed him and the edges of Natsume's lips curved upwards, though by such a tiny degree that it was barely noticeable. What irritated him to no end, however, was that the young girl seemed completely oblivious to his unconcealed feelings for her. In a way, her ignorance pained him, but it also relieved him, somewhat.

The sun overhead was shining brightly, and Natsume was gratified that the leaves of the tree helped to shelter him from the sun's rays. He didn't take too well to sunlight, mainly because it was too damn _bright_, and that annoyed him, for reasons he couldn't explain.

Today was a day like any other.

That was, until he saw a shiny black limousine pull over at the front of the gate.

Visitors? How strange … Gakuen Alice hadn't had guests in forever. Suspicion crossed Natsume's crimson orbs. He had learned long ago not to trust this academy when it came to things out of the ordinary.

Wait, was that Narumi-sensei? What the hell was he doing there?

Natsume silently hopped down a branch, trying to grasp a better understanding of the situation. He was intrigued, and yet burning with suspicion. His muscles tensed as he saw the car's door being opened by a valet.

A girl about his age stepped down from the limousine. On first sight, she was very small, barely topping five feet, possibly five one. She had shoulder-length blonde hair that fell in curls and wore a simple white dress. Natsume watched as she hopped over to Narumi-sensei, who was wearing a smile on his face. They started talking.

Tch, there was nothing special about her at all. Natsume's brow kitted together in confusion: _Is she a new student?_

But why were there so many bodyguards around her? There had to be at least thirty black-dressed, beefed men standing pompously around the girl. On closer inspection, Natsume could see that each of them had at least three guns stuffed in their belts. Wait, _THREE_?

_What's with all the armed men?_

Natsume could see Jinno, Serena, Nodacchi and at least seven other teachers walking up behind Narumi. They weren't as cheerful as usual (except for Jinno - he was never cheerful); in fact, they seemed quite solemn.

_What's with all the teachers?_

Natsume felt his eyes widen involuntarily as he saw another man who suddenly appeared amidst the small gathering. He was all clad in black and had numerous accessories placed on his body. Worse of all, he had a knowing smirk on his face. Pure rage seemed to purr deep within Natsume. Persona.

_What's with Persona?_

Something was not right, Natsume figured. Why did everyone bother to come just to welcome one stupid girl? Why trouble themselves over one stupid girl? Shouldn't they have better things to do, other than paying attention to one stupid girl?

Just who was that girl anyway?

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**There ya go! I've finished the prologue! :D And don't worry ... It'll be an N X M fic! Hoping to see reviews popping in! Don't forget to press that little button below this! C'mon, it ain't that hard... I'd love to know what y'all are thinking about this! No flames, please, though constructive criticism is by all means welcome.**


	2. Suspicion

**Thank you so much to those to reviewed! You don't know how much your reviews bring me joy and spurred me to write more! :D**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice, not now, not ever.**

**Summary: Five years have passed, and a new student enters the academy. She seems okay... yet Natsume gets the eerie feeling that she's out to get HIS Mikan. The pieces don't fit, and he has to figure it out before it's too late... N X M ... R & R!**

**Enjoy!!!! :D**

**~ ø Sephyr ø ~**

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**[Previously...]**

_Something was not right, Natsume figured. Why did everyone bother to come just to welcome one stupid girl? Why trouble themselves over one stupid girl? Shouldn't they have better things to do, other than paying attention to one stupid girl?_

_Just who was that girl anyway?_

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The Middle School Division filed into their classroom, abuzz with the latest news regarding their school and the students in it. Everybody was going about their usual business: Sumire was attempting to snap shots of Natsume reading his manga, and looked utterly mystified when she realised that each of her film rolls had mysteriously exploded in flames; Hotaru was sitting in the front of the classroom, fiddling with her latest gadget and made no effort to even pretend to listen to her chattering best friend; Ruka was sitting beside Natsume as usual, hugging his bunny and staring out of the window, cheeks a little tinged with pink, eyes vacant and deep in thought. In fact, everyone was so engrossed in their own personal endeavours that they didn't notice their class rep walking to the front of the class, looking slightly flustered in the face.

"Hey guys!" Yuu waved his arms wildly, trying his hardest to get their attention, "Guys?"

No one paid the slightest attention to the gentle-tempered class rep.

"Ano..." Yuu was going red in the face now, "I have some news you guys might be interested about…"

Mikan turned her pretty little head towards him and squealed, "What is it Yuu-kun? I love surprises!"

The moment Mikan veered her line of sight towards the mild-mannered boy, the rest of the class did too. Immediately, the entire room felt into silence as everyone looked at Yuu.

"W-We'll be having a new student!" Yuu blurted out, relieved that he had gotten the news out so quickly.

The class exploded into uproar, almost as if someone had dropped a bomb from the sky or something. The noise that erupted from each mouth was so strong and seemed to blend with one another - nobody could distinguish between each other's voices anymore.

"_Awesome! We haven't had a new student in … forever!"_

"_I wonder what that new kid will be like…"_

"_Is he a boy?"_

"_Hell no! I'm betting she's a girl!"_

"_50 rabbits on the fact that the new student will be a boy!"_

"_Dream on! I'm betting 100 rabbits that she's a girl!"_

"_Wanna up the stakes a little?"_

"_You bet!"_

"_Umm.. why are we betting on the gender of the new student? Isn't that a little inappropriate?"_

"_Shut up!"_

"_No, you shut up!"_

At that very moment, Narumi-sensei pranced into the classroom, wearing yet another of his … interesting getups. He flipped his wavy golden hair backwards and his eyes seemed to sparkle as he eyed the ruckus that had occurred in the classroom.

"Okay class … settle down!" He sang.

The class fell into an uneasy truce, all glaring at their teacher with a mixture of 'what-the-hell-is-he-wearing' looks and 'this-had-better-be-important-or-I'll-kick-his-ass"' looks. Only Mikan, however, gazed at Narumi-sensei with her usual adoration. Every one (with the exception of Natsume and Hotaru) waited in bated breaths for Narumi to say his next few words.

"As you all may know, we are having a new student today!"

That they already knew. What they _reall_y wanted to know was: Where/Who the hell is the new student? Impatience didn't ease the obvious tension in the classroom. Why on earth does Narumi-sensei have to be so overly-dramatic? Was this a theatrical play or something? Can't he just get on with it already?

Narumi paused with emphasis as he began, "Let us all welcome the new student wholly!" He ambled to the door and pried it open gently and whispered, (not very secretively) "Come on in and introduce yourself ... don't be shy ... "

As the new student walked into the room with shy, tentative steps, everyone leaned in to get a closer look. She wasn't very big - eighty percent of the class could easily tower over her - and she had wavy, golden-blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. She wore a black headband on her hair, her fringe a neat straight line above her eyebrows. Her uniform was overly-starched and she looked a little robotic as she made her way towards the class. Her face was rather scrunched up, but nobody could tell if it was from nervousness or her natural features. She looked as though she was of European descent, but on the whole ... she wasn't very pretty and looked rather uncomfortable.

"My name is Gloria," She introduced softly. Three long seconds passed and the class remained in drop-dead silence as they watched her curiously. She looked as though she didn't know what else to say. "Erm ... it's a pleasure meeting you." She walked awkwardly to a vacant seat beside Sumire.

Mikan was the first one in the class to react. "Nice to meet you!" She cried out, a smile on her face, "My name's Mikan Sakura! Let's get along well, okay?"

The class murmured their agreement.

Gloria didn't reply at first. She glanced curiously at Mikan, and a smile broke on her face. "Hello ... Mikan." She leaned forward to shake Mikan's outstretched hand. Their fingers were just about to meet when suddenly, a voice from the back of the classroom startled everyone.

"Don't touch her."

Eyes travelled towards the back of the room, surprised that such a hostile sound was able to spill from Natsume's lips. He seemed dead serious; a fireball danced menacingly on his palm.

"You heard me." He growled, "Don't touch her."

Gloria seemed as bewildered as the rest of the class, though she swiftly withdrew her hand, leaving Mikan disgruntled.

"_Mou_!" She said hotly, hands on her hips as she glared at the dark-haired fire-wielder, "What has she done to you, pervert?"

"Shut up," Natsume breathed, though his tone was distinctly gentler, "You're so noisy."

"Why do you always have to make everyone's life so miserable?" Mikan screeched, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"This has nothing to do with you," Natsume hissed, standing up. The class seemed to melt away, decidedly afraid as they watched from the sidelines. Natsume glared at Gloria, every inch of his face unwelcome. Even Mikan jumped when she heard Gloria speak.

"Oh ... You're that boy from yesterday," She commented serenely, making her way towards Natsume.

_Yesterday?_ Mikan couldn't help but wonder.

Shock was evident on Natsume's face, replacing his anger for a split second. His eyes narrowed in suspicion. Ruka glanced up at his best friend with a worried look in his eyes, "Natsume..."

Natsume didn't hear him. He kicked his chair and walked out of the room, the aura around him dark and strangely evil.

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An hour later, the entire classroom had sprung into action. Hands were outstretched, desperately trying to restrain a violent, flailing Mikan from the door. Everyone knew she was close to one of her tantrums, and they definitely didn't want Gloria to form the wrong impression of them. With an unaccommodating Natsume and a screaming Mikan, they shuddered to think of what Gloria thought of them so far.

"M-M-Mikan..." Anna tried to soothe her gently, "I'm sure it's not what it seems... Natsume was probably in a b-bad mood or something..."

"T-That's right Mikan-chan!" Yuu nodded vigorously, "He's sometimes like this, isn't he, _minna_? I'm sure he wasn't acting mean on purpose"

Apparently, their words of consolation failed to reach Mikan.

"LET ME AT HIM! WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?" Mikan screeched, attempting to break loose from her classmates' steely grips, "I'M GOING TO KILL THAT STUPID PERVERT!!!"

**BAKAN! BAKAN! BAKAN! BAKAAAA!**

Mikan collapsed into a shuddering heap as her dark-haired, violet-orbed best friend looked over threateningly, the barrel of her Baka cannon glinting menacingly in the light. There was no mercy shown in her eyes as she prodded Mikan, trying to see if her cannonballs had successfully eradicated its target. When Mikan lay limp, she looked vaguely satisfied.

"That baka," She said nonchalantly as everyone stared at her, frozen with fear, "The noise she makes never fails to give me a concussion." With that, she dragged Mikan out of the classroom and closed the door behind her.

Everyone craned their necks to look at their latest newcomer, who was still standing at the back of the classroom. Everyone was rather nervous and didn't know what to say. But wait ... was it just their imagination, or was that_ enjoyment_ in her eyes?

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Natsume sat below his favourite sakura tree, his brain whirring in deep, profound concentration. Frankly, he didn't know why he overreacted when the girl tried to touch Mikan. There was nothing wrong with a girl touching another girl, was there? Even if that other girl happened to be _his_ Mikan.

But what he felt just now wasn't jealousy. It was definitely pure, hard anger.

Why had he gotten angry? How could he let his rage slip from his controlled grasp? And why was he feeling so goddamn furious when some weird girl tried to touch Mikan? There was something in that girl that the monster within him had cottoned on to, allowing him to react with actions quicker than his train of thought could process.

Still, that girl was _weird_. That Gloria girl. There was something that wasn't right about her. Natsume tried to think back to their short conversation. Something that she said made him pause with shock, catching him with surprise, letting his guard down for one precious moment. What was it that she said?

Think ... think ... think ...

Wait!

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_"Why do you always have to make everyone's life so miserable?" Mikan screeched, pointing an accusatory finger at him._

_"This has nothing to do with you," Natsume hissed, standing up. The class seemed to melt away, decidedly afraid as they watched from the sidelines. Natsume glared at Gloria, every inch of his face unwelcome. Even Mikan jumped when she heard Gloria speak._

_"Oh ... You're that boy from yesterday," She commented serenely, making her way towards Natsume._

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Damn ... how could he not have noticed it sooner? He could hear her voice ringing in his ears now, _'Oh ... You're that boy from yesterday...'_

The first time he had actually seen the girl was the time when he was sitting on the branches of the tree, quietly listening and spying on the small gathering that had appeared around that girl. Had she actually seen him? She hadn't even turned her head away from the small procession around her, Natsume was sure of that. If she hadn't lifted her head upwards at all, how was she able to notice him?

That was impossible. Utterly, laughably impossible.

Being the notorious and infamous Black Cat, he was particularly feared for his ability, agility and nimbleness to cloak himself within backdrops. He could hide and camouflage himself very well; so well that not even the most highly specialised personnel could detect him when he hid himself within the shadows. And how was he expected to believe that one small fifteen-year-old could spot him, without _him_ even realising it?

Had he actually ... underestimated her?

Damn, this wasn't good. This wasn't good at all.

* * *

Mikan stirred from her sleep, head throbbing and muscles aching. What happened? She could feel soft covers under her. Was she under a duvet? When her vision had cleared somewhat, she could see a pair of violet orbs staring down at her.

"H-Hotaru? Where am I?" Mikan asked groggily, "What happened?"

"You were so annoying so I hit you with my Baka Cannon and brought you here, to my room." Hotaru said impassively.

"But what did I do?" Mikan grumbled, "_Mou,_ Hotaru, your Baka Cannon actually hurt!"

"You don't remember? You wanted to strangle Hyuuga alive for acting unnecessarily rude to Gloria," Hotaru blinked.

Slowly, memories and recollections flooded back to Mikan, and she pouted. "OH! I remember! That pervert was being mean! She didn't even do anything wrong!" She sat on the covers defiantly, feeling annoyed all over again.

Hotaru did nothing but fix her eyes onto Mikan, an unidentifiable expression on her face. "Mikan," She whispered.

"_Nani?_"

Hotaru busied herself with smoothing the duvet, and gingerly sat on the edge of the bed, positioning herself in a way so that she could look at Mikan eye-to-eye. She lay a pale hand on Mikan's cheek, and though her face was as cold as ever, her eyes seemed gentle.

"What is it, Hotaru?" Mikan asked, feeling rather worried.

"Mikan..." She whispered again.

Mikan jerked her head upwards at the call of her name, feeling rather puzzled. Hotaru's next words sounded soft as a susurrus, and yet deadly as a warning.

"I wouldn't be near that girl if I were you."

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**Well, so now Natsume's trying to figure things out ... and it appears that Hotaru has noticed something too! Hee hee! R & R everyone! Oh, and I used quite a few Japanese words here... I'm not sure if I should explain them or not... But oh well... here it is!**

**Mou - [expression of annoyance]**

**Ano - Similar to 'umm' or 'erm'**

**Nani - what**

**Minna - everyone**


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